So I am a "mostly" vegan.. It is killing me I was doing like 6 months no animal product period... Then I slipped up once. then twice and now I ate cheese 4 times in the past week!!! I need some advice.. Why do I crave cheese so so bad? I tried mock cheese and it didnt give me what I wanted. Now after I eat the cheese I have guilt. I can see images of the poor little Cow hooked up to a machine!



On the better news I got my ever so carnivore boyfriend to be a vegetarian. He said he will not give up his cheese but he understands why eating flesh is wrong. !!! Yeahhh .



So bored

First thing that comes to mind is cravings = your body needing something. How is your calcium intake? Is it a texture thing?



When do you find yourself wanting it? Do you want a snack? Remember, cheese has addictive chemicals in it. Your brain wants more, the more it has. It might be hard, but try to starve it, or redirect it and have a nice cupcake instead or something. The craving will pass after a few days.



So, since you did so well for so long, it sounds to me like it might be a chemical reaction from having had it again, and it sounds good good good. (like I get when I have chocolate sometimes, hahaha~ all things chocolate!) Get past that and you'll be ok.



And remember, nobody is perfect. We all slip up sometimes. Don't beat yourself up too bad. Just do the best you can.

I think bekajoi is right. Make sure you're getting enough calcium, and it also probably has to do with suddenly reintroducing it to your diet. As a (farfetched) example, when a sober alcoholic has a sip, they're likely to suddenly go back to drinking. While cheese and alcohol aren't the same, cheese does have addictive qualities and is likely to have the same type of effect.



You could also try recipes with nutritional yeast, like Mac N Cheeze. It won't have the texture at all, but I've been using that a bit since becoming super lactose-intolerant, and it reminds me of cheese - the flavor, not the texture. And since you cook it in things, it's more like the flavor of having a little bit of melted cheese in a sauce or something. It'll certainly never replace eating a piece of straight cheese. It doesn't work for everyone, but you could always try it.

Goodness. I JUST read something yesterday on MSN. It said that the idea that a craving means one's body needs something is just a myth.



Found it! It's the third myth down. http://health.msn.com/nutrition/arti...0215779&page=2



Don't beat yourself up about caving in. It sounds like your more determined than ever in your desire to be vegan! And if you convince your boyfriend to want to cut back on animal products, all the better!

Think of the cow and her misery BEFORE you eat the cheese. I think sticking to your ethics feels better than cheese could ever taste.



(Good job on converting your boyfriend to vegetarian!)

Some of the scientific community think it's because of the addictive nature of the opiate compounds found in cheese.



Personally, I'm not totally sold on that theory as the amounts would be so small it's hardly worth considering. I think it's got more to do with craving the texture and the taste of cheese - the nature of which you can't really find in any other foods.

I think craving like that really only happens when you're in survival mode or are seriously short on something.



Cheese is addictive, and you are a recovering addict. Don't fall of that wagon (or on the wagon).

They're all right. It's an addiction. I know that I cannot let the tiniest MORSEL past my lips (I handle cheese at work every day). If I do, I'll want another and another. For now, the answer is simply NO. I'm fortunate that I usually have Avocados and Peanut Butter and Boca Burgers available at work as well, so I can take care of my body's needs (protein, fat) and the desire to eat old, soured, and coagulated Cow's Milk goes away.

LOL, tell that to a pregnant woman!

I find eating something else that is rich and fatty, like avocado, helps to curb cravings for cheese. Also, if I eat soy cheeze on bread or something, I also put earth balance on it to make it seem fattier/saltier/greasier. That sound charming now doesn't it? A nice mac&cheeze also helps!



However I know that if I eat cheese I'll just get sick anyway so that makes it a whole heck of a lot easier to avoid.

i was pregnant and never had cravings. i had aversions to foods, but no cravings. i think that is a myth much like the one where if you crave something it is b/c your body needs xyz nutrients. just plays into the whole cultural thing of "needing" food--i.e. when its noon, its lunchtime---doesent matter if you are hungry---you HAVE to eat then!

I usually make a rich cashew sauce or eat some peanut butter when I feel the need for cheese. Nutritionally, cheese is horrible. It's 70% fat, most of it saturated, has no fiber, and, outside of calcium, has no remarkable nutritional value. That being said, it's really tasty and has been the hardest thing for me to give up, especially parmesan.



I try to think, why the hell am I putting that in my body. It's crap and it's going to make me sick.

No, not really. I eat what sounds good. I was the same way pregnant, but MUCH more strongly so. I daresay I had cravings. And sometimes they were for things like tomatoes, sometimes for oven fries, sometimes for chocolate... I do think SOME of them were for things I needed in my diet (I craved eggs when my iron was low, for example~ I also craved ICE for the same reason. I started taking my prenatals again and getting past the gag reflex sucked, but my levels went up and cravings waned)



As for feeding into the "i have to eat, it's TIME" crap.... I've never ever done that. I make kids food around certain times of the day, but I'm not always hungry. I make them food regularly and on a somewhat predictable schedule because they TEND to be hungry then. I don't force them to eat. If they're not hungry, it's no big deal, we save it for later.



I eat when hungry. I stop when full. As it should be. I encourage my children to do the same.

So I got more peanut butter and I made an avocado sauce.. Hopefully this helps the damn cravings. I want to eat cheese pizza!!!! I know it is gross eating a piece of bread with puss baked on top...

Calzones are a good sub for pizza. You can make them with all the pizza toppings, without the cheese and you don't have to worry about stuff falling off.



Good Luck!

Make pizza with vegan cheese, or make cheeseless pizza with tons of toppings.

I read why from the book Skinny *****...There are "feel good" chemicals in cow's milk that exist so that their newborns will nurse and thrive, and to ensure a bond between mothers and their young. Morphine, along with codeine and other opiates, are naturally produced in cows' livers and end up in their milk, so cheese is more than good tasting, it also makes you feel good...I copied this info from the book so I wouldn't give false info. It's hard to believe cheese could become an actuall addiction but it does make sense.

Did no one read my most excellent link? :/

I forgot to mention that I had the same problem, I craved cheese. And you're right, the cheese alternatives don't taste very good. So, I looked up how cheese is made and what it is made of and discovered something gross. Cheese is made with an enzyme called rennet and it's a bacteria found in a calves' stomachs. After a calve is slaughtered, the stomach is dried out and salted and then added to cheese. After I found this out, whenever I wanted cheese I reminded myself what was in it and it grossed me out. Hope I could help...

Wow thanks for this link. I went back and read pg. 1 also. I was really suprised by some of the busted myths!...I actually never thought of frozen vs. fresh veggies before.

shineonyou, i did read your most excellent link...thanks, I love feeling smarter!

it gets hard sometimes but you can do it! i believe in you

i had a little cheese craving in the past because i use to love those stinky french cheeses

lol

now what my hubby did was to make pizza without the cheese and make it really nice so u do not miss the cheese.

i make this cashew sauce with tomato that i saw on that site vegan yum yum

i sprinkle yeast flakes on pasta

and i eat very rich foods with white sauce and yeast flakes

i have not had a cheesy craving in a long time

it eventually goes away

good luck on ur vegan journey

I was doing my own thing quietly and YOU are the one who created this post trying to make a big deal out of it. Keep flaming the fire. That must be what you want.

oh good! i felt smarter when i read it too!

Listen to this podcast:

http://cdn4.libsyn.com/compassionate...813f7357bf87e5